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Introduction

This is the final edition of the fourth movement of the Symphonie fantastique with its Introduction, the second edition of the Idée fixe. The introduction is really an original nocturne by Liszt. It is based upon the theme which informs the whole of Berlioz’s symphony, as well as its sequel, Lélio, and was first issued in 1846 (although some sources suggest that there may have been an earlier, untraced version from 1833), but its final form is much simpler in shape and texture. Strangely, Liszt changes the tonality from the A major of the first published version to B major in the present case – neither key being an obvious choice to introduce a march in G minor. The ‘March to the Scaffold’ itself has rather a complicated history: Liszt transcribed the whole symphony in 1833 and it was published the following year. It was re-engraved with very minor corrections in 1836 and two further (unchanged) editions appeared in Liszt’s lifetime. Meanwhile, the fourth movement appeared separately from the beginning, and was twice reissued before the present revision was made – the manuscript, in the Library of Congress (curiously mis-rendering the title as ‘Marche du supplice’, as some early editions of the single movement did) contains only the altered passages with notes for the engraver referring to the first version. The replacements are mostly made in the interests of clarity, and some wide stretches are removed, and the general effect of the changes is quite similar to that made between the versions of the Beethoven Symphonies. For some reason, this version has languished virtually unplayed, even though the movement itself has been given often enough as an encore, a tradition which began with Liszt himself.

Recordings

'One can only marvel at Leslie Howard's tireless advocacy of Liszt, and the way he constantly overcomes the multitude of technical obstacles in his pa ...'This early Beethoven collection finds Howard on top form. The notes which [he] writes to accompany each issue are erudite, witty, totally enthralling ...» More

Leslie Howard’s recordings of Liszt’s complete piano music, on 99 CDs, is one of the monumental achievements in the history of recorded music. Remarkable as much for its musicological research and scholarly rigour as for Howard’s Herculean piano p ...» More